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ABANDONED Thrash Notes Dockyard 1 (2006)
Thrash Notes is a very appropriate title
for the follow-up album to their debut 'Misanthrope' (released in 2003)
by this four piece from Darmstadt in Germany.
Many Abandoned reviews compare them to Slayer and it is a fair
comparison. They are of a very similar sound to Slayer's earlier work.
However, although they are similar they are very much their own band -
from an initial listen it is as if Slayer have taken a different route
after, say, Seasons In The Abyss (or earlier for some Slayer fans), as
though Abandoned have picked up where Slayer left off. However an
initial listen may be deceptive, since they also use many more modern
techniques and sounds. Thrash Notes makes it seem as though the last
fifteen years never happened, it is a stitch in time between 1990 and
2006.
Thrash Notes is a bit of a slow starter, but I found that as the album
progressed my interest increased. It is definitely an album that grows
on you. There may be people that feel that it is too close to the
Slayer sound and it is therefore not original. This is something that I
had in mind when I listened but I don't think it is the case - whilst
not overly original or unique in style, it is a piece of music that I
both respect and enjoyed listening to.
The only criticism I can make is about the drum sound. It is a question
of taste more than anything. I really could not get on with the
repetitive snare sound - it is a technique that Slayer use (for
example, on 'War Ensemble'), but Slayer also use a lot more variation
in the rhythm and interest is added by more use of cymbals etc. The
snare sound on Thrash Notes is intrusive for me and it belittles
Konny's (Konrad Cartini) skill because it sounds as though he only
knows one rhythm. Listening to the album as a whole, this is clearly
not the case. This is a real shame and I hope that it doesn't put too
many people off but I am very fussy when it comes to drum sounds. I
guess I have been spoilt, growing up listening to drummers such as Dave
Lombardo and Paul Bostaph.
Altogether though, I would recommend thrash fans give Abandoned a try.
Abandoned have previously played such festivals as Rock Hard Open Air,
Wacken Open Air, Earthshaker Open Air and Thrash 'em All. Upcoming
shows include the Queens of Metal Open Air Festival in Germany in June,
and Thrash Till Death Festival in July.
Abandoned are:
Eric "Kalli" Kaldschmidt: Guitars & Vocals
Holger "Holg" Ziegler: Guitars
Günter "Günt" Auschrat: Bass
Konrad "Konny" Cartini: Drums
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Review by Amanda Hyne |
